JPS58821B2 - electronic microscope - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an electron microscope, and more particularly to an electron microscope suitable for selecting and repeatedly observing multiple locations on a sample.

When observing a biological sample using an electron microscope, after observing various parts of the sample, there are cases where it is desired to observe the initially observed part again and examine it again.

In such a case, in conventional apparatuses, the user manually rotates a knob for changing the sample position while looking at the sample image displayed on the fluorescent surface to find the part of the sample to be observed again.

In such an apparatus, searching is done through trial and error, which is time-consuming, and it is difficult to accurately locate the sample portion to be observed.

The present invention was developed in view of the shortcomings of conventional electron microscopes, and it is possible to select any part of the sample initially observed and re-observe it automatically if necessary. An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a drawing for showing a basic embodiment of the present invention, and numeral 1 in the drawing is an electron microscope housing.

The housing includes a converging lens 3 for converging the electron beam generated by the electron gun 2, a sample stage 4 on which a sample is placed, an objective lens 5, a projection lens 6, and a fluorescent plate 7 for projecting an image of the sample. is located.

The sample stage 4 is movable along the X-axis by an X-direction drive pulse motor 8 for driving the sample stage in order to change the observation part of the sample, and a Y-direction drive pulse motor 8 for driving the sample stage. −9 allows movement along the Y axis.

Both pulse motors 8 and 9 are driven by pulse signals supplied from the central processing unit 10 and amplified by respective drive circuits 11 and 12.

13 is an interface for connecting the central processing unit and the drive circuit.

The central processing unit is connected to the console 15 via an interface 14f.

The console has an X-direction position control section 16 and a Y-direction position control section 17', respectively, for controlling the X-direction position coordinate and the X-direction position coordinate among the observation position coordinates of the sample.

18 is a temporary storage device connected to the central processing unit 10.

The console is equipped with a storage device control section 19.

The storage device control unit 19 stores a digital signal representing the observation position coordinates X and Y at that time from the central processing unit 10 in a temporary storage device when there is a part that you want to re-observe after changing the observation position. When a command is given to store the coordinates by supplying them to 1B, the observation position coordinates X, Y stored in the storage device 18 at the time of re-observation are
This is a part that gives a command to read the data into the central processing unit 10.

Further, the operation console is equipped with a sample stage 4 in response to a signal from the central processing unit so that the sample portion corresponding to the coordinates The sample position controller 20 is provided with an automatic sample position control section 20 that gives a command to automatically move the sample to a predetermined position.

The arithmetic processing device 10 is connected to a storage device 21 for storing programs in which a program for causing the arithmetic processing device, etc. to perform a predetermined operation based on a command signal from the operation console 15 as described above is stored. There is.

Further, the central processing unit 10 is connected via an interface 22 to a cathode ray tube control circuit 23 and a cathode ray tube 24 connected to the circuit.

The cathode ray tube is used to display the observation position of the sample on the sample, so that each point on the cathode ray tube surface corresponds to each point on the sample surface. The point on the cathode ray tube surface corresponding to the observation position coordinates is displayed as a bright spot.

Specifically, the position coordinates X of these bright spots that are currently being observed.

, Yo on the cathode ray tube surface are displayed, for example, as blinking bright spots, and are also stored in the temporary storage device 1 for re-observation.
The point corresponding to the observation position coordinates stored in 8 is a bright spot of medium brightness on the surface of the cathode ray tube, and also corresponds to the position coordinates read out from the temporary storage device 18 to the central processing unit 10 at the time of re-observation. The points that appear are displayed as high-intensity bright spots.

The cathode ray tube control circuit 23 is for displaying the bright spots as described above based on signals from the central processing unit, and has storage means, video signal generation means for displaying the bright spots, and the like. ing.

In the configuration described above, the operator observes the fluorescent plate 7 and controls the X-direction position control section 16 and the Y-direction position control section 5 of the console
Operate the direction and position control section 17.

As a result, the sample stage 4 is driven based on the pulse signal from the central processing unit 10 so that the sample portions specified by the operation are observed sequentially, and the sample image projected onto the fluorescent plate 7 is It changes sequentially.

At this time, a flashing bright spot as shown by A in FIG. 2 representing the current observation position is displayed on the tube surface of the cathode ray tube 24, and as the observation position moves, the bright spot also appears as indicated by arrow B in the same figure. It moves on the cathode ray tube surface as shown.

The operator observes the fluorescent plate 7, and when the part he wants to re-observe is projected onto the fluorescent plate 7, he operates the storage device control unit 19 on the console 15 to temporarily store a signal representing the observation position coordinates at this time. 18 and stored.

Thereafter, by further operating the X-direction position control section 16 and the Y-direction position control section 17, the sample stage 4 is further driven and the observed portion on the sample changes.

Along with this, the blinking bright spots on the surface of the cathode ray tube also move sequentially based on signals from the central processing unit 10.

At this time, the point corresponding to the observation position coordinates stored in the temporary storage device 18 for the aforementioned re-observation is displayed as a bright spot C of medium brightness, as shown by C in FIG.

If such operations are continued, the position coordinates of several more points to be re-observed will be stored in the temporary storage device 18, and at this time, the coordinates of C□, C in FIG.
Points corresponding to these position coordinates as indicated by 2 are displayed as points of medium brightness.

In this way, the operator operates the storage device control unit 19 of the console to determine which of the sample position coordinates already stored in the temporary storage device 18 corresponds to the observation position coordinates to be re-observed. specify.

As a result, the specified bright point among the bright points shown with medium brightness on the cathode ray tube surface corresponding to the specified position coordinates is displayed as a high brightness bright point, and at the same time, the specified point The position coordinates of are read out from the temporary storage device 18 into the central processing unit 10.

Next, by operating the automatic sample position control section 20 of the operation console 15, the central processing unit 10 controls the horizontal, vertical, and drive pulse motors 8 until the observation position coordinates match the read specified position coordinates. , 9.

As a result, the observation position coordinates are automatically changed to the specified coordinates, and at the same time, the blinking bright spot indicating the current observation position on the cathode ray tube surface quickly moves and becomes a high-brightness bright spot. It will match.

In this way, the image to be re-observed is projected onto the fluorescent plate 7, and the projected image can be examined again.

In exactly the same way, when attempting to obtain an image corresponding to another observation position coordinate by operating the storage device control section 19, the coordinate is read out into the central processing unit 10, and further automatic sample position control is performed. By operating the unit 20 and giving a command, it is possible to re-observe a projected image corresponding to another pre-stored observation position coordinate.

As described above, the present invention provides an electron microscope that can automatically and easily re-observe any part of a sample that is initially observed by selecting it.

Furthermore, in the present invention, since the position coordinates stored in the storage means and the position coordinates currently being observed are displayed as bright spots on the cathode ray tube so as to be distinguishable from each other, it is possible to re-observe the position coordinates currently being observed. When deciding whether or not to re-observe, it is possible to make a judgment while linearly grasping the relationship with the observation position that has already been memorized for re-observation, and also to select the coordinate that is currently being observed from among the multiple coordinates that have already been memorized. When selecting which coordinate position should be observed next, the selection can be made while intuitively grasping the correlation with the current observation position.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, only the observation position coordinates are stored and a re-observation image is obtained based on the stored position coordinates, but the actual observation conditions include the height of the sample stage and the The inclination of the table, observation magnification, etc. also play an important role, so the configuration is designed so that these conditions can be memorized as needed, and when re-observation, these stored values can be read out and each part It is preferable to control 0

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a drawing for illustrating an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a drawing for illustrating a display screen of a cathode ray tube 24 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1... Electron microscope housing, 2... Electron gun, 3... Converging lens, 4... Sample stage,
5... Objective lens, 6... Projection lens, 7... Fluorescent plate, 8... Pulse motor for driving in the X direction -19...・Y-direction drive pulse motor 110...Central processing unit, 11゜1
2...1 drive circuit, 13, 14, 22...
...Interface, 15...Operation console, 16
......X direction position control section, 17...Y direction position control section, 18...1 o'clock storage device, 19.
...Storage device control unit, 20...Mountain motion sample position control section, 21...Storage device for program storage, 23...Cathode ray tube control circuit, 24.・・・・・・
・Cathode ray tube.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 a sample stage, an electron optical means for obtaining a projected enlarged image of a sample placed on the sample stage, a driving means for driving the sample stage to change observation position coordinates of the sample; a storage means for storing the coordinates of the observed position on the sample by supplying a digital signal; a cathode ray tube for displaying the coordinates of each observed position on the sample in correspondence with each point on the screen; means for displaying bright spots to distinguish the position coordinates stored in the storage means and the position coordinates currently being observed; and a means for reading out the coordinates stored by the storage means so that the observation coordinates of the sample are set to these coordinates. An electron microscope, characterized in that it comprises means for controlling said drive means so as to coincide.